ORONO, Maine –The Hartford softball team split a doubleheader against Maine on Saturday afternoon. The Black Bears took game one, 5-2, before Hartford dominated the second game, securing a 10-1 win after five innings.
 
With the split, the Hawks move to 3-4 on the season and 1-4 in the America East, while the Black Bears sit at 5-12 overall and 3-2 the America East. 
 

GAME ONE: MAINE 5, HARTFORD 2
Maine would jump out to an early 4-0 lead after the first inning. After the first inning, Julianna Kocenski would start to settle in, tallying six strikeouts to limit the Black Bears from extending their lead any further. Hartford would respond in the top half of the fifth. After Mara Sczecienski hit a leadoff single and advanced to second base two batters later, Zoe Truxon secured an infield single, which plated Sczecienski and got the Hawks on the board. Lauren Card, who came in to pitch in relief of Kocenski, was able to work the Hawks out of a jam, preventing Maine from adding onto their 4-1 lead in the bottom half of the fifth. The Black Bears would tally one more run in the sixth to take a 5-1 lead into the seventh inning. In the top half of the seventh, Haley Cassidy got on base with a lead off hit by pitch. Chandler Mitchell would come on to pinch run and would score following a throwing error by Maine. The Hawks comeback effort would ultimately fall short as the Black Bears took game one, 5-2.

GAME TWO: HARTFORD 10, MAINE 1 (5)
Hartford would start off the second game on fire, taking an early 1-0 lead. Chandler Mitchell got on base with a leadoff single, stole two bases and then scored off a Sczecienski sac fly. However, Maine would tie up the game with a run of their own in the bottom half of the first. The Hawks would explode for four runs in the top of the third. Mitchell and Danielle Rocheleau both got on base to start the inning before Emma Armstrong stepped up and launched a three-run home run to left center. Emma Curry would be the next batter up and hit a solo shot of her own to left to give the Hawks a 5-1 lead after three innings. Hartford would ride its momentum into the fourth where they added onto their lead. With two outs, Mitchell hit her third single of the game, following it up with her third stolen base after she took off for second. Rocheleau would step up and plate Mitchell with an RBI double followed by a Sczecienski walk and a Kelsey Galevich RBI single. Armstrong then launched her second three-run shot of the day, hitting the scoreboard in left center, to give the Hawks a 10-1 lead after four. Caylee English would continue her strong perfromance inside the circle, not allowing any runs to secure a 10-1 victory after five innings.
 
NEWS AND NOTES
·       Kocenski (0-3) started inside the circle in game one, allowing nine hits and four earned runs in 4.1 innings of work
·       She tallied a season-high six strikeouts on the afternoon
·       Lauren Card pitched 1.2 innings of relief, allowing one run off two hits
·       Rocheleau and Sczecienski both went 2-for-3 in game one
·       English (2-1) pitched a complete game in the second game, allowing one run off of four hits to earn her second win of the year
·       Mitchell went a perfect 3-for-3 in game two, scoring three runs while swiping a game-high three bases
·       Armstrong racked up six RBI on the day

NEXT ON TAP
The Hawks wrap up their three-game weekend series against Maine tomorrow. First pitch is set for 11 a.m.
 
 
For more information on the Hartford softball team, stay with HartfordHawks.com for updates and follow the team on social media (Twitter | Instagram | Facebook).